In which we explore ways to expand the space between work and sleep ...

Handspun goodness

I challenged my fellow alumnae from Maggie's SOAR class to spin something up in December that we'd acquired at SOAR and show it off. It took me a while to clear off some bobbins so that I'd have lots of room to do whatever I wanted.

First off the bobbins was some pre-dyed roving from the color in spinning workshop I took with Deb Menz. I had about half a bobbin's worth, so I wound it off on my hand and did an Andean 2-ply using my Bosworth spindle. It lofted up beautifully once I'd finished with it - almost twice it's size. Amazingly enough, it looks just gorgeous and the colors play against each other beautifully. Deb is not a fan of plying singles back on themselves - but I think this on is a winner. I've got about 150 yards of a heavy-sport or DK weight.

Next off was some long-aging merino top from Louet. This either came with the purchase of a wheel from The Woolery or had been destined to be thrums for mittens. Regardless, I again had two bobbins that were each about three-quarters full. I plied them together off the bobbins, then did the remainder using Andean and my trusty Bosworth. It didn't loft up nearly as much as Deb's stuff - I suspect this is because I wasn't doing as much of a long draw as I did with Deb's stuff. Regardless, it's squishy and lovely. About 350 yards, sport-weight.

So - bobbins are clear and I'm ready to go.

I took 8oz. of 100% Merino roving from Lambspun in Fort Collins, CO, and started spinning away. My plan was for a 3-ply, DK weight so that I could knit-up a nice vest (or something). It's a lovely green called Mountain Moss - a nice blended solid that is majority green with chasings of blue and yellow. The color is very rich and deep, absolutely amazing. Actually - it looks like this:

The picture isn't great, but the color is close to correct. Here's a better view of that amazing 3-ply:

I knew that 3-ply, from the bobbins and NOT Navajo-plied, makes for a wonderful, round, yarn, but I'd not gone entirely through the process with such wonderful fiber. Here's a slightly better look at the two skeins that are dry:

After plying up three skeins worth (~300yds x 2 skeins, plus one ~100 yd skein), I simply wound off the remaining singles and finished them off. I've got just about 100 yards of a lace-weight single that I'll be using to test out Evelyn Clark'sKnitting Lace Triangles. Need something special for my mom. :-)

All in all, I'm amazingly pleased with how these turned out. The are *very* even and squishy. Really, truly, nice. I'm looking forward to knitting up a nice vest with them.